Ramachandra Guha
Encyclopedia
Ramachandra Guha is an Indian
writer whose research interests have included environmental
, social
, political
and cricket
history. He is also a columnist
for the newspaper
s The Telegraph
(syndicated in several Indian languages), and The Hindustan Times.
Born in Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand
, India
in 1958, Guha studied at The Doon School
and St. Stephen's College
, Delhi
. He graduated in Economics with a BA in 1977 and then an MA from the Delhi School of Economics
(University of Delhi
). He then went to Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
, where he did a Fellowship (equivalent to a Ph.D) on the social history of forestry
in Uttaranchal, that focused on the Chipko movement
. It was later published as The Unquiet Woods .
, Yale University
, Stanford University
and at Oslo University, and later at the Indian Institute of Science
. During this period, he was also a fellow of Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin in Germany (1994–95).
Guha then moved to Bangalore
, and began writing full time. He served as Sundaraja Visiting Professor in the Humanities at the Indian Institute of Science
, Bangalore, in 2003. He is managing trustee of the New India Foundation, a nonprofit body that funds research on modern Indian history.
Guha is married to the graphic designer Sujata Keshavan
and has two children, Keshava and Iravati.
He is the author of India after Gandhi
, published by Macmillan
and Ecco
in 2007.
In 2000, Guha penned an essay critiquing an article written by writer and activist Arundhati Roy
opposing the Narmada Dam. Roy espoused the cause of the Narmada Bachao Andolan
, a cause Guha is also a supporter of. However, he questioned her expertise in the relevant field and argued that her activities and writings undermined rather than helped the cause. Roy responded in an interview, saying that Guha was a cricket historian who had missed the boat.
In 2009, Guha joined several other well-known historians in signing a petition that criticized the functioning of the prestigious Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in Delhi. The petition, also signed by such well-known academics as Sumit Sarkar, Nivedita Menon, Nayanjot Lahiri, Mushirul Hasan, Mukul Kesavan Mahesh Rangarajan
and Krishna Kumar, alleged that the institution was being run in an inefficient and corrupt fashion. They point out that NMML has discontinued its publication programme, and that the acquisition of manuscripts and oral histories have all but come to a halt.http://www.igovernment.in/site/Controversy-dogs-Indias-premier-library/. In turn, writer and activist Madhu Kishwar, environmentalist Pradeep Kishen and historians Irfan Habib and D.N. Jha have come out in support of NMML and it's director Mridula Mukherjee.http://www.indianexpress.com/news/teen-murti-nostalgia-for-ivory-tower-and-a-question-of-standards/491084/ Subsequently, the government found that the transfer of funds was done "with the approval of the competent authority." Mridula Mukherjee and the NMML was given a clean chit by the Ministry of Culture, disconfirming Guha's allegations. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nehru-memorial-library-gets-clean-chit-director-feels-vindicated/articleshow/6606293.cms
Guha was appointed the Philippe Roman Chair of International Affairs and History at the London School of Economics
for 2011-12, suceeding Niall Ferguson
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
writer whose research interests have included environmental
Environmental history
Environmental history, a branch of historiography, is the study of human interaction with the natural world over time. In contrast to other historical disciplines, it emphasizes the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs. Environmental historians study how humans both shape their...
, social
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
, political
Political history
Political history is the narrative and analysis of political events, ideas, movements, and leaders. It is distinct from, but related to, other fields of history such as Diplomatic history, social history, economic history, and military history, as well as constitutional history and public...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
history. He is also a columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
for the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s The Telegraph
The Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
(syndicated in several Indian languages), and The Hindustan Times.
Early life and education
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1958, Guha studied at The Doon School
The Doon School
The Doon School is an independent school located in Dehradun in the state of Uttarakhand in India. Established in 1935, it was founded by Satish Ranjan Das. Its first Headmaster was Arthur E...
and St. Stephen's College
St. Stephen's College, Delhi
St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi located in Delhi, India. The college admits both undergraduates and post-graduates, and awards degrees under the purview of the University. Famous for its rich history and many traditions, St...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. He graduated in Economics with a BA in 1977 and then an MA from the Delhi School of Economics
Delhi School of Economics
Delhi School of Economics , commonly referred to as DSE or D School, is a centre of post graduate learning of the University of Delhi. The centre is situated in the university's North Campus in Maurice Nagar, and is surrounded by a host of other prestigious academic institutions of the country...
(University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
). He then went to Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta is an institute of management located in Kolkata , India giving diplomas in management...
, where he did a Fellowship (equivalent to a Ph.D) on the social history of forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
in Uttaranchal, that focused on the Chipko movement
Chipko movement
The Chipko movement or Chipko Andolan is a social-ecological movement that practised the Gandhian methods of satyagraha and non-violent resistance, through the act of hugging trees to protect them from being felled...
. It was later published as The Unquiet Woods .
Career
Between 1985 and 2000, he taught at various universities in India, Europe and North America, including the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and at Oslo University, and later at the Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science is a research institution of higher learning located in Bangalore, India. It was established in 1909.-History:After a chance meeting between Jamsetji N...
. During this period, he was also a fellow of Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin in Germany (1994–95).
Guha then moved to Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, and began writing full time. He served as Sundaraja Visiting Professor in the Humanities at the Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science is a research institution of higher learning located in Bangalore, India. It was established in 1909.-History:After a chance meeting between Jamsetji N...
, Bangalore, in 2003. He is managing trustee of the New India Foundation, a nonprofit body that funds research on modern Indian history.
Guha is married to the graphic designer Sujata Keshavan
Sujata Keshavan
Sujata Keshavan is an Indian graphic designer and co-founder of Ray and Keshavan, India's leading brand design firm. Sujata graduated in 1984 from the National Institute of Design and in 1987 from the School of Art, Yale University, with a Master of Fine Arts in graphic design...
and has two children, Keshava and Iravati.
He is the author of India after Gandhi
India after Gandhi
India after Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy is a book by Indian historian Ramachandra Guha, published by HarperCollins in August 2007...
, published by Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
and Ecco
Ecco
Ecco may refer to:* Ecco, an imprint of the multinational publisher HarperCollins* ECCO, a Danish shoe manufacturer* Ecco & Miramont, a packaging and labels company* Ecco Employment Agency, an employment agency...
in 2007.
In 2000, Guha penned an essay critiquing an article written by writer and activist Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
opposing the Narmada Dam. Roy espoused the cause of the Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan is social movement consisting of tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river, Gujarat, India....
, a cause Guha is also a supporter of. However, he questioned her expertise in the relevant field and argued that her activities and writings undermined rather than helped the cause. Roy responded in an interview, saying that Guha was a cricket historian who had missed the boat.
In 2009, Guha joined several other well-known historians in signing a petition that criticized the functioning of the prestigious Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in Delhi. The petition, also signed by such well-known academics as Sumit Sarkar, Nivedita Menon, Nayanjot Lahiri, Mushirul Hasan, Mukul Kesavan Mahesh Rangarajan
Mahesh Rangarajan
Mahesh Rangarajan is a researcher, author and historian with a special interest in environmental history and colonial history of British India. He appears frequently on Indian television as a political analyst. He is also a columnist in the print media writing on wildlife conservation, political...
and Krishna Kumar, alleged that the institution was being run in an inefficient and corrupt fashion. They point out that NMML has discontinued its publication programme, and that the acquisition of manuscripts and oral histories have all but come to a halt.http://www.igovernment.in/site/Controversy-dogs-Indias-premier-library/. In turn, writer and activist Madhu Kishwar, environmentalist Pradeep Kishen and historians Irfan Habib and D.N. Jha have come out in support of NMML and it's director Mridula Mukherjee.http://www.indianexpress.com/news/teen-murti-nostalgia-for-ivory-tower-and-a-question-of-standards/491084/ Subsequently, the government found that the transfer of funds was done "with the approval of the competent authority." Mridula Mukherjee and the NMML was given a clean chit by the Ministry of Culture, disconfirming Guha's allegations. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nehru-memorial-library-gets-clean-chit-director-feels-vindicated/articleshow/6606293.cms
Guha was appointed the Philippe Roman Chair of International Affairs and History at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
for 2011-12, suceeding Niall Ferguson
Niall Ferguson
Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson is a British historian. His specialty is financial and economic history, particularly hyperinflation and the bond markets, as well as the history of colonialism.....
.
Awards and recognition
- His essay, "Prehistory of Community Forestry in India", was awarded the Leopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society for Environmental HistoryAmerican Society for Environmental HistoryThe American Society for Environmental History is a professional society for the field of environmental history. It publishes Environmental History. The ASEH was founded in 1977....
for 2001. - "A Corner of a Foreign Field" was awarded the Daily Telegraph Cricket Society Book of the Year prize for 2002.
- He won the R. K. NarayanR. K. NarayanR. K. Narayan , shortened from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami Tamil: ) , Madras Presidency, British India. His father was a school headmaster, and Narayan did some of his studies at his father's school...
Prize at the Chennai Book FairChennai Book FairChennai Book Fair or Madras Book Fair is an annual book fair organized in the Chennai, India by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India . The fair typically lasts for about 10 days during the New Year-Pongal season...
in 2003. - The US magazine Foreign PolicyForeign PolicyForeign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
named him as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world in May 2008. In the poll that followed, Guha was placed 44th. - Padma BhushanPadma BhushanThe Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
for 2009, India's third highest civilian award.
External links
- Ramachandra Guha's essays for Outlook India (registration required)